Fish-plate joint for railroad-rails and bearing for such joints



(No Model.) 2SheetS-Sheet 1.

v W. LEPS KY. FISH PLATE JOINT FOR RAILROADRAILS'AND BEARING FOR SUCH JOINTS.

No. 374,604. I I Patented Dec. 13, 1887.

witmeooeo (No Model.) *2 Sheet's- -Sheet 2.

W. LBPsKY.

FISH PLATE JOINT/FOR RAILROAD RAILS-AND BEARING FOR SUGH JOINTS. No. 374,604. Patented Dec. 13,1887.

I Mn/ moods 81402444201 NIT'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WI LIAM LEPsKY, or BUREAU JUNCTION, ILLINOIS.

FISH-PLATE lOlNT FOR RAILROAD-RAILS AND BEARlNG FOR SUCH JOlNTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,604, dated December 13, 1887. Application filed Jnne14, 1 887. Serial No. 241,276. (No model.)

J' all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LEPSKY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bureau Junction, in the county of Bureau and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fish Plate Joints for Railroad-Rails and Bearings for Such Joints, of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of two railroadrails joined together and showing beneath the I5 joint a dead-plate and its supporting-truss for supporting the said joint. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 1 1 of Fig. 1, and shows more clearly the position of the dead-plate and its supporting-truss. Fig. 4. is a side elevation with a modified Iorm of supporting-truss. Fig. 5 is a top plan with the rails removed, and shows a modification in the form of the deadplate and in the means for securing it in position upon the trusses.

Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of my invention is to construct an elastic support for railroad or other rails at the place where they are joined; and it consists in certain novel features in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

Referring to the drawings, A A represent two railroad-rails of the ordinary construction, the adjacent ends of which are connected by the usual fish-plates, B, and they are mounted upon the ordinary ties, O 0 O situated at suitable distances apart along the line of the rail, and to which they are secured by spikes a, or by any other suitable means.

The ties O G, situated at or near the joint of the two rails, are placed but a short distance apart and are located one on each side of the said joint. They are connected by trusses D D, running lengthwise of the rail andsituated one on each side thereof. These trusses D D are preferably made of metal and of the form showni.' e., having a top portion, by means of which they are secured to the ties C C, at the'inner ends of which they are bent and extend downward a suitable distance, when they are again bent and extend across the space between the said ties on a line with the top portion before mentioned. form a pocket or receptacle adapted to receive and support a dead-plate, E, which may be made of iron, steel, or any other suitable metal, or it may be made of hard wood, if desired, and which is situated therein transversely to the rails A. The purpose of this dead-plate is to form a support for the-two rails at the place where they are joined, and the trusses will obviously form an elastic or springy support for the dead-plate, and consequently for the rails, at their joint.

The dead-plate E is formed with a longi tudinal slot, 6, and on its bottom portion with lugs or projections f f-one on each side of the slot e-wh ich lugs or projections aremade of a proper length to fit Within the interstioe or space between the trusses D D, and thereby keep the dead-plate from accidental displacement when in position thereupon; The slote within the dead-plate registerswith the space left between the ends of the rails, and facilitates the introduction of a block or wedge between the two rails. Another obvious advantage of this slot is that by its registering with the expansion space between the railroadrails all sand used by the locomotives will fall through the said slot, and thus prevent the clogging'of the said space, which hasbeen a constant source of annoyance to railroad men.

In Fig. 4 the trusses are shown as corrugated around their entire length, the purpose of which is to form a more elastic support for the dead-plate, as obviously they will then more easily expand and give when a heavyweightsuch as is caused by a train of cars-bears upon the said dead-plate. When the trusses are so constructed as to be elastic, they will obviously last a much greater length of time than if they were rigid, as there is then very little or no danger of their being cracked or broken by a heavy weight-pressingoupon them, for the reason that they will give more or less when a weight does bear upon them, and willspring back into their original or normal position when the weight has passed over.

Should it become necessary for any purpose to remove the trusses, all that is necessary will be They thus IOO to simply remove the pins that secure them to the ties, as they do not extend under the rails, and if it is desired or necessary to remove the dead-plate, in order to substitute another or for any other purpose, it can be done by removing one of the trusses D and slipping it outthrough the side underneath the rails. Thus it is not necessary to disturb the rails in order to get at or remove any of the parts that support the rail-joint.

In Fig. 5 a modification in the form of the dead-plate is shown, the object being to obviate the necessity of removing even one of the trusses in order to remove the deadplate. To this end the dead-plate G, instead of being formed with lugs or projections upon its bottom has, preferably, one lug, 9', upon one of its sides extending out from the dead-plate the same distance as the thickness of the trusses D, so that when the dead-plate is in position upon the trusses its side, with the exception of the lug or projection y, will rest against the sides of the said trusses. This deadplate G is made of a suflicient width to extend almost entirely across the space between the ties O O", and its opposite side is made smooth and it is securely held in position by means of asuitable wedge, as H, which is preferably provided with a lug, it, upon one of its extremities, and may be secured to the ties in any suitable manner. When this manner of securing the dead-plate is adopted, the said dead-plate can be removed by removing the wedge H, which holds'it against lateral displacement.

Having 'now described the construction, uses, and advantages of my invention, what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, and what I therefore claim, is-

1. In a support for rail-joints, the railroadrails and their ties, in combination with trusses secured to the ties and closely embracing the same at the upper and inner sides and adapted to receive a dead-plate, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a-support for rail-joints, the railroadrails and the ties, in combination with trusses secured to said ties and forming a pocket for the reception of a dead-plate, and the said dead-plate having a slot for the purpose, substantially as described.

3. In a support for railroad-railjoints, the said rails and the ties, in combination with trusses secured to the ties and adapted to receive and support a dead-plate, and the said dead-plate having a slot and lugs or projections, for the purposes substantially as herein shown and described.

4. In a support for railroad-rail joints, the

rails and the ties, in combination with the elastic trusses secured to the ties and adapted to reeeivea deadplate, substantially asshown and described.

5. In a support for rail-joints, the combination, with the rails and the ties, of the corrugated trusses adapted to receive a dead-plate and form an elastic support therefor.

6. In a support for rail-joints, the combination, with the rails and the ties, of the trusses adapted to receive a dead-plate, and the said dead-plate having a slot registering with the expansion-space between the rail-joints, and havinga lug on one side fitting within the interstice between the trusses, and a key on the opposite side of the dead-plate, by means of which it is secured in position upon the trusses, all arranged and combined in such a manner that the said dead-plate can be removed from the trusses without removing the said trusses, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- \VILLIAM LEISKY. Witnesses:

ANDREW FUNK, Scorr GRAIN. 

